A guide for configuring an Aquiss FTTP connection on OpenWrt. There isn't much information specifically for Aquiss broadband and OpenWrt. The good news is that the setup is a typical PPPoE/DHCPv6 configuration.
- Router used: Linksys WRT3200ACM
- OpenWrt version tested: 21.02.3 r16554-1d4dea6d4f
ℹ️ This information has also been provided to Aquiss for inclusion in their customer knowledgebase for anyone else who uses a router running OpenWrt.
The following packages must be installed on OpenWrt to have the PPPoE protocol available for network interfaces before continuing:
- ppp
- kmod-pppoe
- ppp-mod-pppoe
All recent OpenWrt builds have full IPv6 support.
/etc/config/network may be using the older swconfig syntax compared to the distributed switch architecture (DSA) syntax and this should be converted if you are using an OpenWrt build using DSA.
Further information around this change can be found on the OpenWrt wiki.
Aquiss is a reseller of Openreach FTTP products. In order to have a FTTP service with Aquiss an Openreach ONT must be fitted. Openreach maintains a database of all premises along with the surrounding infrastructure that serves those premises. You can view this information through the BT Broadband Availability Checker. Aquiss broadband services do not require a telephone line and Aquiss does not provide any form of ISP router, but does have recommendations of routers that are known to work with their FTTP service. This list however is not all routers that would work with their FTTP service.
OpenWrt is not specifically mentioned in their router list or knowledgebase, but based on my own experience, most OpenWrt routers should not have any issues.
As a general recommendation the following would be advisble for any OpenWrt router being used on an FTTP service:
- Using a supported OpenWrt build i.e. latest stable/supported version (21.02 or later)
- A VLAN capable router with a dedicated WAN port
- A dual-core CPU as a minimum for avoiding bottlenecks
A powerful CPU would be recommended, particularly for higher speed FTTP packages i.e. 1Gbps.
For setting up an Aquiss broadband connection, PPPoE with authentication is required. There is no requirement for specific VLAN tagging.
Aquiss has full IPv6 support 👍, Aquiss does however disable IPv6 on new broadband lines by default. Their rationale for this is due to not providing a router with their service, they cannot guarantee all customer equipment would handle IPv6 out of the box, as some routers with firmware/bugs around IPv6 may have issues. OpenWrt having solid IPv6 support for a number of years has no issues in this area.
The Aquiss IPv6 implementation requires the use of DHCPv6 which should be present in all standard OpenWrt builds from the past few years. OpenWrt itself has a default IPv6 implementation that "just works" for many scenarios.
Aquiss broadband services have static IPv4 and IPv6 on all their packages, this includes residential services. The IPv6 prefix provided is a /56.
ℹ️ IPv6 must be enabled on your broadband line through the Aquiss ebilling system found within the Upgrade/Downgrade options page. You should also see an IPv6 prefix on your IP Assignments area of your connection. If you don't, IPv6 is not enabled. Once a new broadband line goes live, you can turn IPv6 on yourself or you can contact Aquiss support for further assistance. There may be a delay for a new connection going from "Processing" to "Active" before you can make such changes.
By default OpenWrt configures a wan and wan6 interface for you (usually under the type DHCP/DHCPv6 client). You can modify these interfaces or create a new ones. If you are already using these interfaces for another internet connection i.e. multihoming, create a new interface.
- Protocol type:
PPPoE - Device:
wan(change this if using another port other than WAN)
[tab] General settings:
- PAP/CHAP username:
abb-xxxxxxxxx@aquiss.com - PAP/CHAP password:
****************
Your broadband password gets sent to you by email, alternatively you can find it within the Circuit Information area, using the “Show password” button in the Aquiss ebilling system.
[tab] Firewall Settings:
For simplicity, assign the interface to the existing WAN zone.
All other settings can be left as the default. Apply the changes.
An interface called pppoe-xxx with the name of the interface i.e. wan will be created e.g. pppoe-wan. You should see your static IPv4 from Aquiss appearing in the network connection information if everything is configured correctly and connected.
Troubleshooting no connection
Double check your PPPoE username and password is correct.
Confirm your ONT (modem) is showing the following lights:
- Power 🟢 (solid)
- LOS ⚫ (off)
- PON 🟢 (solid)
- LAN 🟢 (solid but sometimes blinking)
Power and PON should be a solid green and permanently lit, it is normal for the LAN light to blink as this indicates data activity. If any of the lights do not match the referenced sequence above, there is likely an issue with the ONT or fibre connection itself, which may require an Openreach engineer to investigate.
If the ONT and fibre connection is good, there is likely an error with the PPPoE connection, this will be shown on the interface status and more specific error logging can be found in the syslog. You can use logread to see the errors through a console session i.e SSH or view the logs via the LuCI web interface: Status > System Log in LuCI.
If you are enabling IPv6, you can use the automatic or manual configuration method. Both are explained below.
On the PPPoE WAN interface, the default setting for Obtain IPv6 address on the General Settings tab is “automatic”. For PPPoE this creates a virtual interface called “xxx_6” (assuming the interface is called “wan” it would be wan_6). This automatically provisions all IPv6 configuration and obtains and delegates your IPv6 prefix to the LAN for you.
Alternatively, if you want to have more flexibility over the configuration i.e. naming convention of the interface or for another advanced networking purposes, you can set this to manual to still have IPv6 enabled but prevent the creation of the virtual interface. By using the manual setting this will then require another network interface to configure the IPv6 side, you will however have more control of settings. This will be an alias interface which will be linked to the main PPPoE interface.
- Protocol:
DHCPv6 client - Device:
@wan(Change to the interface name used in the previous step if different)
Start by adding a new interface with the protocol DHCPv6 client. For the device type select “Alias interface: @xxx”. Assuming the interface created earlier is wan, it would be Alias interface: @wan but it may be different based on the name used previously. Leave everything else as default.
[tab] Firewall Settings:
Assign to the WAN zone like the previous network interface. Make sure both the PPPoE and virtual interface are in the same firewall zone to avoid complications.
All other settings can be left as default. Apply the changes.
The IPv6 configuration works as follows:
- The main PPPoE interface should receive a link local IPv6 address beginning with
fe80::. This changes on each new PPP session. - The virtual interface (whether automatically created or manually with a DHCPv6 client as the protocol, will obtain the prefix and delegate this, the interface should show a IPv6-PD value, this will be a /56.
- Under the default configuration this prefix will then be delegated to the LAN interface and any other interfaces i.e. VLANs that allow this.
Because Aquiss provides a /56 you have plently of address space for multiple networks.
If you do not receive any IPv6 address on the main PPPoE interface, double check IPv6 is enabled on your broadband line. In addition if it has been recently enabled, you may need to establish a new PPPoE session, which can be done by restarting your PPPoE interface to force a new connection.
option pppd_options 'ipv6 ::xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx,'
Replace with a link local IP address of your choice i.e. copy the current link local address value after fe80 and assign this. From now on you will now get the same link local address assigned each time you connect over PPPoE.
The OpenWrt wiki provides lots of technical information regarding configuration and networking
Specific information related to PPPoE and IPv6 within OpenWrt for further reading: